The last U.S. military aircraft left Kabul airport, marking the end of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and efforts to air thousands of vulnerable U.S. and Afghan citizens when the country fell into disrepair. Taliban confirmed CENTCOM Commander Kenneth McKenzie on Monday evening.
The state of play: The U.S. facilitated the evacuation of more than 120,000 people, including 5,000 Americans, but as many as 250 Americans and thousands of Afghan allies were still trying to leave the country.
- The last flight departed at 3:29 pm ET, which was at 23:59 pm Monday night in Kabul.
- The evacuation of American civilians ended about 12 hours earlier, McKenzie said; some Afghans were evacuated during closing hours.
What they say: “There’s a lot of disaffection related to this outing. We didn’t get everyone to want to go out,” McKenzie said. He added that not everyone would have left even if the deadline had been extended.
- “All members of the U.S. service are already out of Afghanistan,” McKenzie said.
- Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted: “The last American occupier withdrew … at 12 noon and our country gained its full independence, praise and thanksgiving to God.” .
McKenzie said the Kabul airlift it was the largest civilian evacuation mission ever executed by the U.S. military. He said the “vast majority” of Americans hoping to flee were evacuated.
- “We continued the disclosure and we would have been prepared to carry them out until the last minute,” but none of them arrived at the airport and could be accommodated.
President Biden announced in a statement that he would address the nation on Tuesday afternoon, saying it was the “unanimous recommendation of the joint leaders and all our commanders on the ground to end our air transport mission as planned.”
- “His view was that ending our military mission was the best way to protect the lives of our troops and ensure the prospects of civilian exit for those who want to leave Afghanistan in the coming weeks and months,” he said. continue.
Between lines: The Pentagon had previously suggested that the evacuation mission would continue until the deadline, but would not talk about the exact timing for security reasons.
- The airport had been attacked in the last days of the operation, which may spur the Pentagon to complete its withdrawal before the August 31 Biden deadline.
- The United States had carried out two drone strikes targeting ISIS-K threats since last week’s suicide bombing that killed 13 members of the U.S. service and more than 170 Afghan civilians.
- The Pentagon said earlier Monday that it was investigating reports that a U.S. drone strike targeting a vehicle believed to pose an “imminent ISIS-K threat” at Kabul airport killed at least ten Afghan civilians, including seven children. .
What follows: McKenzie said efforts to evacuate the remaining Americans had now moved to the “diplomatic realm.”
- The United States, along with 97 other countries, announced on Sunday that it had reached an agreement with the Taliban to allow them to continue withdrawing their Afghan citizens and allies from the country after 31 August.
- McKenzie said the Taliban had been “pragmatic and business ”in the last hours of the operation in the United States. Now the militant group will take control of the airport.
The US is also moving diplomatic operations from Kabul to Doha, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday. “The military mission is over,” he said. “A new diplomatic mission has begun.”
- Regarding the Taliban, Blinken added, “All legitimacy and any support must be gained.”
- Blinken also said the U.S. remains committed to helping the rest of the Americans and Afghan allies who want to leave Afghanistan.
Ahead of Monday’s Pentagon announcement, a warning was sent to pilots that flights transiting Kabul would travel in “uncontrolled airspace.”
- After the withdrawal of the United States, celebratory shootings took place in Kabul.
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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with additional details everywhere.